Electric Vehicles

UCLA Adding 13 EVs to Fleet

January 29, 2014
• by Staff

Photo of 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV courtesy of General Motors.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is adding 13 Chevrolet Spark electric vehicles to its fleet for use by Parking Enforcement, Transportation Administration, Housing, IT, and Fleet Services departments.

"The campus environment is ideal for electric vehicles due to the short daily range needed and the charging infrastructure is already in place," said Sherry Lewis, director of Fleet and Transit at UCLA. "The Spark EV meets the needs of a small cargo vehicle and admin vehicle for campus trips. After looking at the other EV options, this was the preferred vehicle."

The university is in the process of ordering the battery-electric vehicles and expects them to be delivered in a few months. The UCLA fleet already has a 20 EVs in use, including a Tesla S for research purposes.

"The use of EVs in the UCLA fleet is encouraged to maintain our commitment to our Climate Action Plan," Lewis said.

The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV gets an EPA-estimated 82 miles of range and a combined city/highway 119 MPGe.

Working in partnership with the nonprofit carsharing service Hourcar and Xcel Energy, the city of St. Paul, Minn., applied for federal funding through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.